The photographs were taken by Spanish photographer José Luis Mejías, who travelled with the nomads on their annual migration from the southern part of the Junggar Basin (Dzungarian Basin) in northwestern China to the Altai Mountains.

The series is available on José Luis Mejías’ web site Nómadas Libres (in Spanish) and is divided into the following 3 areas:

• Dzungaria
• Qiakuertu
• Altai / Tien Shan

The web site also includes articles on the nomad life and their history (all in Spanish). If you can’t read Spanish, the Beijing This Month web site has a nice article about José Luis Mejías’ travel with the nomads.

External Links:

• Nómadas Libres
• Beijing This Month’s article about José Luis Mejías’ travel with the nomads
• More Photographs by José Luis Mejías

Courtesy of NASA we can now see a satellite view of the archipelago, as it looked on 5 February 2009:

I struggled initially to recognise the continents, but apparently the top left group of islands with one little green island is supposed to represent Greenland. With Greenland as a landmark you can sort of make out the shapes of North and South America and further to the right Africa.

Many building projects in Dubai have recently been cancelled or put on hold, because of the economic crisis, so it’ll be interesting to see just how fast the 300 islands will be developed.

You can read more about The World project on The World web site.

The year of the Ox will soon be upon us. This year the Chinese Spring Festival, also know as Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, starts on 26 January, but worldwide celebrations take place throughout January and February.

Personally, I will be celebrating this Chinese New Year’s Eve at home, but for the lucky travellers who’ll be out and about in January and February, here’s a short list of just some of the celebrations:

BEIJING:

The Spring Festival is very much a family affair in Beijing and the rest of China for that matter. So if you are travelling in China, the best way to experience the festival is with a Chinese family.

Apart from temple fairs such as the fair at the Temple of Earth you are unlikely to find many official public celebrations, but you should be able to see New Year’s decorations and hear lots of red firecrackers, in particular at the Drum and Bell Towers.

HELSINKI:

25 January, 14:00-18:00:  New Year’s Eve celebrations at Lasipalatsi square including lion and dragon dancers and fireworks.

Visit the City of Helsinki website for all details.

HONG KONG:

25 January: The New Year’s Eve Flower Market at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.

26 January, 20:00-21:30: The International Chinese New Year Night Parade with floats from around the world. The parade will also be available via webcast.

27 January, 20:00: The Chinese New Year Fireworks Display at Victoria Harbour between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui.

Visit Discover Hong Kong for all the celebration details.

LONDON:

1 February: Dragon and lion dances, fireworks and performances from Chinese artists in Trafalgar Square (12:00-18:00), Chinatown, Shaftesbury Avenue and Leicester Square.

The Visit London and Chinatown websites have all the details.

NEW YORK:

26 January, 11:30 – 12: Chinatown Chinese New Year Cracker Show in Roosevelt Park.

1 February, 13:00: Chinatown Chinese New Year Parade starting at Mott Street and Hester Street.

All details available at Chinatown Online.

NEW ZEALAND:

6-8 February: The Auckland Lantern Festival in Albert Park.

You can find all the details on Newzealand.com.

14-15 February: Christchurch Chinese New Year Lantern Festival at Victoria Square.

Newzealand.com has all the details.

PARIS:

1 February, 13:30-17:30:  Chinese New Year Parade starting at rue du Disque.

All details available in French at Chine Informations.

SAN FRANCISCO:

San Francisco’s Spring Festival celebrations run from the beginning of January till mid-February and include the Chinese New Year Flower Fair and the Chinese New Year Parade (7 February, 17:30-20:00).

The San Francisco Chinatown website has all the details.

SINGAPORE:

Singapore celebrates the Spring Festival from 3 January – 15 February. The celebrations include stage shows, light displays and the famous Chingay Parade on 30-31 January.

The Visit Singapore website has the details.

SYDNEY:

The celebrations in Sydney run from 23 Jan – 15 February and include:

23 January, 18:00- 20:00: Launch Celebrations in Belmore Park.

23-25 January: Chinese New Year Markets in Belmore Park.

1 February, 19:45 – 21:30: Chinese New Year Twilight Parade from Town Hall to Chinatown.

7-8 February, 8:00-17:00: Dragon Boat Races at Darling Harbour.

All details for the Sydney celebrations can be found at the City of Sydney website.

KNOW OF ANY OTHER CELEBRATIONS?

The above cities are of course just a few of the many cities that celebrate the Chinese New Year. Feel free to add the details of any other celebrations you know of in the comment box below.

Should anyone in southern England fancy a game of mah-jong on New Year’s Eve, do drop me a line via our contact page.

The dates and times listed above were correct at the time of writing, but will not be updated. So if you plan to attend any of the celebrations, please make sure you check the official websites for up to date information.

RELATED ARTICLES

Articles about China.

The Little Mermaid plans to temporarily move her rock to the middle of the Danish Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, according to The Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs.

If all goes to plan The Little Mermaid will be placed in a small, artificial lake filled with water from Copenhagen harbour, so that she won’t feel too homesick.

I do not begrudge the girl her trip, after all she has been sitting in Copenhagen since 1913, but I wonder if Denmark has thought the whole thing through? Is it wise to bring one of your main tourist attractions to a World Expo, so the entire world can see just how small and utterly overrated it is?

If The Little Mermaid manages to get a visa, she’ll be in Shanghai from 1 May to 31 October 2010. Presumably all you’ll see at her rock in Copenhagen is a ‘be back soon’ sign.

You can see an artist’s impression of the Danish Pavilion on The Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs website – The Little Mermaid is in the third illustration.